Allen Watch: Warming Up For '08

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When it comes to political images, the presidential campaign is to The BAG what the Super Bowl is to the NFL — or better, to Senator George Allen.

Beginning with this week’s GOP Southern and Midwestern Leadership Conference, the preseason for ’08 is now underway. Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be highlighting some signature visuals of the early contenders. As the campaign picks up, I’ll be tracking the major players pictorially, examining the pictures both politically as well as psychologically.

If anyone in the early field is prime for some visual (if not psycho-biographical) investigation, it’s Senator Allen.

There’s a good post at the Decemberist with a quick sketch of the Senator and his obsession with football. Considering the preoccupation, the Decemberist/Mark Schmitt thinks it odd Allen never had a football career. He played a role on his college team, but it was at UVA — not exactly a football powerhouse.

The Decemberist also links to a funny (if not a slightly unsettling) piece by Dana Milbank at WAPO regarding Allen’s speech. Apparently, he’s a walking football cliche. Might we soon expect a new campaign bestseller called “The Allen Dyslexicon?” (For fun, I went to his Senate website this evening to see what was what. There, I found the Senator featured with former players for the Washington Redskins promoting the Boys and Girls Clubs Washington Redskins Alumni Charity Golf tournament.)

“Hi, I’m Senator George Allen. I’m named for my father, famous Redskins coach George Allen. The photo above appeared in Newsweek in late December touting me as a presidential contender. Below is the cover of my father’s book. Notice any resemblance?”

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